


Don't Have to Crawl

by zahnie



Series: Amnesia [3]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Amnesia, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Hospitals, M/M, Minor Injuries, Multi, Temporary Amnesia, don't worry he'll be okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 09:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16134308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahnie/pseuds/zahnie
Summary: Eliot wakes up in the hospital with amnesia.





	Don't Have to Crawl

**Author's Note:**

> _You do not have to be good._  
>  _You do not have to walk on your knees_  
>  _for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting._  
>  _You only have to let the soft animal of your body_  
>  _love what it loves._  
>  \--from "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver ([full poem here](http://zahnie.tumblr.com/post/178531876970/elodieunderglass-lesbianherstorian-wild))
> 
> Here is the third instalment of my Leverage-established OT3-amnesia fics!! I thought I was only doing one of these (as a gift for the amazing greenmonstermash who is hugely helpful, always, with encouragement and brainstorming) but I kept getting ideas and now all three exist! It's very exciting :D  
> Hardison-amnesia: [Be Here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957243)  
> Parker-amnesia: [Hit the Ground](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15391314)
> 
> Playlist [here](http://zahnie.tumblr.com/post/178302461300/eliot-amnesia-fic-playlist). Enjoy!
> 
> Edit: added to series so it's easy to find all my Leverage amnesia fics but they're still stand-alone and can be read in any order

He wakes up all in a rush, knowing there's something he has to do, somewhere he has to go. Has to go _now_. He sits up so fast he's dizzy.

“Whoa! No, Eliot, lie down!” A man's voice, panicked.

He turns to look but the motion makes his head throb and black spots appear in front of his eyes. He blinks frantically. The pain is unbelievable. Someone pushes a hand against his chest and he follows the gentle pressure until he's lying down again.

When his eyes clear, there's a blonde woman in front of him. She still has her hand on his chest. “We're okay,” she says, firmly.

He believes her. He doesn't know what she's talking about but she's telling the truth.

A black man pops up behind the woman. He's way taller than her. “Oh my god, Eliot. You can't just... I mean, yeah, you probably _could_ just jump out of bed because you're basically Batman, but that doesn't mean you _should_.”

He doesn't know who the man is any more than he knows the woman. He should have just stayed asleep.

“What happened?” he rasps. His throat is dry or maybe raw.

“We found you unconscious after the fight,” the woman says. “You didn't wake up on the way here.”

“I know you hate hospitals,” the man says, “But seriously, El, we were super worried.” His eyes are big and anxious.

“It's okay,” he says, because he can't remember hating hospitals. Why would he hate them? His head hurts and it's hard to think.

The woman frowns. She's still touching him. It's nice.

The man says, “I told them you have some kind of medication allergy so they haven't given you anything yet. But they really want to, so, is that okay? We'll stay here the whole time.”

He really wants them to stay. Nothing is really making sense so he holds on to that thought. “Okay,” he says.

The man smiles but the worry in his eyes doesn't completely go away.

“Eliot,” the woman says, suddenly. He remembers the man saying 'Eliot' before too. The name isn't familiar. It's dawning on him slowly, around the pain, that he doesn't remember a lot of really important things.

He opens his eyes, which he didn't realize he'd closed.

“Don't go to sleep. No naps for head injuries, right?” she asks.

“Right,” Eliot croaks. It's the correct answer because she smiles for the first time.

Both of them smiling at him lights up the whole room, even through the haze of pain and confusion. He's pretty sure he's in love.

“Let us protect _you_ for once,” the man says, breaking the spell.

Eliot wants to ask him what he's talking about but the woman is speaking again. “No working for at least a month, no matter what,” she says, and Eliot's stomach drops.

They're just coworkers? Is he reading this all wrong? Are they here by his bed because he got hurt at work and they just happened to be there?

A nurse comes in then and pulls the man and woman aside. She whispers to them urgently while Eliot tries to figure it out.

Before, the woman said something about a fight. Now that he's concentrating, he can feel other pain as well as the insistent thumping in his head: ribs, knee, hands. They 'found him' unconscious so it wasn't like a boxing match or something. Is he their bodyguard? That would fit the facts he knows. Or maybe they're all in law enforcement.

The nurse interrupts his thoughts. “And how are you feeling, Mr. Bennett?” she asks, as she checks the screens beside him.

“My head hurts,” he tells her, and catches the man staring at him.

The nurse says, “Well, we can help you with that now.” She hooks Eliot up with an IV while the woman paces the room and the man types rapidly on his phone. They do seem worried about him but that could just be general kindness. Then the woman perches on the arm of the man's chair and he puts his arm around her without looking up. Eliot's stomach drops again.

The nurse asks Eliot a lot of questions about the pain and writes down his answers. She also shines a light in his eyes, peering intently into them. Afterwards, she says, “Okay, almost done. Just a few questions to check your short-term memory.”

Eliot tenses. He should have said something sooner about not remembering. It's going to look weird now that he didn't. Like he was lying to them.

The nurse turns to the man and woman. “I need to ask you to step outside for a few minutes.”

The woman jumps to her feet. “No,” she says. There's a cold finality in her voice.

The man stands up too, more slowly. “We'd rather stay, if that's okay,” he says, smiling at the nurse.

The nurse is somehow completely unmoved by his smile. She says, “It isn't. Patient confidentiality is a serious issue.”

“We're not leaving,” the woman says.

“If you don't leave, I will call Security,” the nurse says.

“They can stay,” Eliot says, trying not to sound too worried.

He obviously fails because the nurse turns to him, looking concerned. “Unfortunately, this is hospital policy,” she says, gently. She looks over her shoulder and orders, “Out. Now. I won't ask again.”

“We'll be right outside the door,” the man says to Eliot. “We won't go anywhere.”

“No,” the woman says again, but she doesn't sound as sure as before.

“Come on, Parker,” the man says, softly. He holds out his hands to her. She hesitates. Finally, she takes his hands and lets him lead her out of the room.

The nurse waits until the door has shut behind them before speaking again. “Is everything alright at home?” she asks.

It takes a minute for Eliot to make sense of that question. The pain in his head has lessened slightly but it's being replaced with a weird, fuzzy feeling that he doesn't like. It must be the drugs. “I don't know,” he ends up saying, which is probably a mistake.

The nurse's eyebrows go up. “Tell me more,” she says, pen at the ready.

“I don't remember,” Eliot says.

“Tell me what you do remember,” the nurse says, patiently. “Like today, for example. What happened to you?”

“I don't know, I don't remember,” Eliot repeats.

“Your chart says you have injuries to your head, ribs, and hands,” she says. “You were brought in by Mr. and Mrs. Richards.” She waves her hand at the empty chairs.

Eliot closes his eyes. He was right then. There's no place for him in their lives. He must have already known that. It still hurts.

“Mr. Bennett?” the nurse asks.

He opens his eyes again. “I'm awake,” he says, but he can feel himself starting to drift off.

“Not for long,” the nurse says, smiling.

“I can't remember,” Eliot says but it comes out as a mumble.

“We'll talk again when you wake up,” he hears the nurse say, and then he's asleep again.

~

He wakes up suddenly some time later, accidentally hitting his elbow on the hard railing of the hospital bed as he jolts into consciousness. The room is dark. Instinctively, he knows it's important not to make any noise so he doesn't cry out. He holds his breath for a second to try to keep quiet but it just makes the next gasp seem louder.

“El? Hey, baby, it's okay.” The voice is low and soothing.

Eliot turns his head. The room is dark but there's light coming through the partly open door. The man from before is standing next to his bed. Mr. Richards, the nurse called him. Did he... just call Eliot 'baby'? What is that about?

The adrenaline surging through him is more bearable with other things to think about. He manages to slow his breathing a little.

“That's it,” Mr. Richards says. It's hard to see his expression with the light behind him but he sounds happy. “The morphine knocked you out for a while. How are you feeling?” He takes Eliot's hand.

Eliot's surprised enough by that to just blurt out, “Better.” The headache he couldn't feel before is coming back but it's nothing compared to the last time he woke up.

Mr. Richards laughs. “Oh yeah, I'm sure. You're fine, why are we even in a hospital anyway, you could run a marathon.” He squeezes Eliot's hand.

The light from the door is blocked for a moment and Mr. Richards turns quickly.

“It's me,” Mrs. Richards says, crossing the room silently. She hands her husband a cup. “They don't have the right kind of tea,” she tells Eliot, cryptically.

“That's okay, I don't think he can have herbal tea right now anyway,” Mr. Richards says.

“What time is it?” Eliot croaks, then clears his throat. It's so dry.

“Two fifteen,” Mrs. Richards says, handing him her other cup.

Sitting up makes him dizzy again but the relief of the cold water on his throat is worth it. After Eliot finishes, Mrs. Richards takes the cup back. Only then does he register what she said. Two in the morning? “Why are you still here?” he asks.

“What? We aren't going to leave you here alone,” Mr. Richards says.

Eliot's head is pounding. “It's a hospital, I'll be fine.”

Neither of them say anything for a long moment. “Hardison, turn on the light,” Mrs. Richards says. “Eliot, close your eyes.”

He does, but the sudden burst of light still hurts. A tiny groan escapes him.

When he opens his eyes, both of them are staring at him. After a long silence, Mrs. Richards says, “You've been acting weird since yesterday.”

“And not just 'I have a head injury, stop bugging me' weird,” Mr. Richards says. “What's wrong?”

“I'm... having trouble remembering,” Eliot says. He won't tell them how mistaken he was but this much is safe.

They exchange a look. “Remembering what?” Mr. Richards asks.

Eliot gives in. “Everything.”

Mr. Richards inhales sharply. Mrs. Richards blinks and says, “Oh. Good.”

“ _Good_?” Mr. Richards asks, his voice going up an octave. “What's good about amnesia?”

“It isn't something worse,” she says. She sounds calm but Eliot can see she's trembling slightly. “I thought maybe the nurse said you were dying and you didn't want to tell us.”

“Oh. Okay,” Mr. Richards says, softly.

“She just asked me if I was okay at home,” Eliot says, trying to lighten the mood. He immediately regrets it because Mr. Richards looks horrified and Mrs. Richards looks confused.

“That's a dumb question, how would you know?” Mrs. Richards asks.

“How badly are you hurt, really?” Mr. Richards demands at the same time.

“I don't know,” Eliot says.

Mr. Richards makes a face and nods. “Sorry, El, dumb question. Wait. Do you know who we are?”

“No,” Eliot admits.

“Oh my god,” Mr. Richards says, throwing his hands up. “Why didn't you—y'know, actually, that makes sense, nevermind.”

“The nurse told me your last name,” Eliot says, defensively.

“I don't have a last name,” the woman says.

“She told you our _fake_ last name,” the man says. “My name is Alec Hardison, and she's Parker.”

Eliot actually stops breathing for a second. “So, you're not... married?” he asks.

Alec's eyes go wide. “No! Oh, baby, no. We're both dating you.”

“What?” His heart lifts even as he asks for confirmation. It wasn't a mistake. He wasn't wrong.

“If we got married, we'd be married to you too,” Parker says.

“Can we... do that?” Eliot asks. He has amnesia. Maybe the rules have changed and he's forgotten.

Alec stares at him in stunned silence.

Parker reaches out to take Eliot's hand. “We can do anything,” she says, seriously. Eliot believes her.

Alec is still staring at Eliot like... like Eliot just accidentally proposed to him. Which he kind of did.

Alec shakes himself. “I mean, we couldn't do it legally? But I don't think any of us would really care about that aspect, under the circumstances,” he says.

“I didn't mean—not that I wouldn't but...” Eliot stammers. He knows very little about himself but he knows he would never propose to anyone so casually on purpose.

Alec smiles reassuringly at him. “It's okay,” he says.

Parker squeezes his hand, a little too firmly. Eliot squeezes back and she smiles at him too.

A horrible screeching siren breaks the silence, startling Eliot. He jerks into a half-sitting position. Parker holds his hand tighter.

Alec is typing on his phone frantically. “Fire alarm pulled in the lobby,” he yells over the noise.

Eliot can feel his heart beating faster. He swallows, trying not to panic.

Parker lets go of him and starts unhooking his IV bags from their stand, working quickly.

“Can you walk?” Alec asks Eliot. Eliot shrugs. He's still a bit dizzy even sitting up.

Parker finishes with the IVs and pulls a folded wheelchair out of a corner of the room. She shakes it open in one motion.

They bundle Eliot into the wheelchair easily and give him the IV bags to hold in his lap. The fire alarm feels like it's inside of his head, battering against his skull.

The sound changes in the larger space of the hospital hallway but it's still almost deafening. A nurse yells at them as Parker pushes Eliot quickly to the elevator but he can barely hear her.

The elevator isn't working, shut down for a fire that might not exist. But a moment of Alec's frantic work on his phone has it moving again.

Inside the elevator, they have a brief respite from the endless noise of the alarm. Alec and Parker start an argument that isn't really comprehensible to Eliot.

“That's exactly what _they'll—_ ” Parker says.

Alec cuts her off. “But what if there really _is—_ ”

She nods sharply, glancing at Eliot. “We have to—”

“Yeah,” Alec interrupts, and that seems to settle things.

The elevator dings and the doors open into chaos. The renewed shriek of the alarm makes Eliot wince but that isn't the only noise in the hospital lobby, though it is the loudest. Nurses and doctors are rushing back and forth. People in regular clothes are panicking, leaning over desks to shout at staff. The double automatic doors at the end of the room are open, letting people stream in and out.

Parker clears a path for Alec to push Eliot's chair through. She's surprisingly forceful about shoving people out of their way. They make it across the crowded lobby much faster than Eliot would have thought possible.

Out in the parking lot, Eliot's first sign that everything is not all right is when Parker pulls something out of her jacket and slams it against a man's chest. Her weapon sparks, the man shudders all over. He falls to the ground, still shaking.

Eliot can't make sense of it for a moment. When other men run over to them, not in uniform, not panicked by the alarm, he understands. They're under attack.

_Let us protect you for once_ , Alec said, before, yesterday. Eliot's the one who is supposed to defend them.

Alec rushes forward to punch another man in the face. The man staggers but then punches him in return. Parker kicks a third man who is trying to grab her.

Eliot stands up. His head throbs and his ribs hurt and his knee twinges. He puts the pain away, even the bright flash from his arm where he pulled the IV needles out.

He takes three running steps and slams his shoulder into Alec's opponent's ribs, pushing him sideways. Then Eliot punches him almost exactly the same way Alec did, except he kicks the man's legs out from under him at the same time.

It's only been a few seconds since he joined the fight. It feels like an age of the world has passed. Everything about this is familiar, like nothing has been since he woke up in the hospital.

Memories reappear like they were never gone. How could he have forgotten teaching Hardison how to throw a punch? How could he have forgotten sparring with Parker?

Eliot whirls around to face Parker's opponent. He gets in two quick punches while Parker recovers her taser, and then there are three men on the ground. Another very familiar thing.

The terrible things come back too, of course. He's glad it's all at once, that he doesn't have to try to relearn everything slowly. Relive it all again. All the training, the missions, the mistakes, the first time he ever—it's good to remember what he's done since too. The people they've helped. Their grand plans for the future.

Eliot is glad too that he didn't need Parker and Hardison to remember for him. There are things even they don't know. That he never wants them to have to carry.

“El, baby, you're bleeding,” Hardison says, breaking Eliot out of his thoughts.

“It's fine,” he says, gripping his arm to put pressure on the wounds with his free hand. “That was me. Are you okay?”

“Am _I_ okay?” Hardison asks, rhetorically.

“Let's go,” Parker says from behind them. Eliot turns to see she's already grabbed the handles of the wheelchair.

“Don't need that,” he says.

Parker pushes it forward anyway, leaving the IV bags on the ground where he dropped them. A cold breeze reminds Eliot that he's only wearing a hospital gown and no shoes. He sits down in the chair without more arguing.

“Ambulance?” Parker asks, pushing the chair toward the waiting emergency vehicles.

“No,” Eliot says.

“We'll bring it back,” she says, as if that could be his only objection.

“The alternative is boosting one of these cars,” Hardison says, jogging beside Eliot. “We're compromised somehow and I'm not taking the chance it was our rental van.”

Eliot doesn't argue. Hospitals have terrible security but Hardison's right. They shouldn't use a van that might have a tracker. At least these ambulances are empty and they won't actually be hitting paramedics in order to steal one.

Parker has the back door open almost immediately. Eliot climbs in, wincing. Hardison shoves the wheelchair out of the way, like it's an empty shopping cart at the grocery store.

Since Parker is the one who can hot-wire an ambulance the fastest, she is also the one who gets to drive. Eliot lets Hardison help him bandage his arm, gritting his teeth when they turn or brake unexpectedly.

“So, this is your default then?” Hardison asks, much later, when they're well away and all three sitting in a hotel room. “Whatever it takes, even when you don't know us?”

“I...” Eliot starts, but then he falters. He _has_ always like been this with them, even when he didn't really know them yet, from the beginning of the team. “I remembered,” he says, finally.

A slow smile lights up Parker's face for a moment but then she looks serious again. “Everything?” she asks, softly.

“Yeah,” Eliot says, breathing the word out slowly.

“You okay?” Hardison asks.

“Yeah,” Eliot says again. He smiles at them. “I'm good.”


End file.
